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Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Weekly sermons from our Central Lutheran Church preaching team plus quick reflections from Pastor Ryan Braley.
Real talk, ancient wisdom, and honest questions — all designed to help you learn, grow, and find encouragement when you need it most.
At Central, our mission is simple: FOLLOW Jesus together, be a community where you BELONG, and LOVE our neighbors across the street and around the world.
Think deeper. Live freer. Share an episode with a friend and visit us in person anytime — you’re always welcome here in Elk River, MN.
Episodes
250 episodes
#115 - SNAP Benefits, A Christian Response
Hunger isn’t an abstract statistic when it lands on your block. With SNAP benefits tightening for millions of Americans, we ask a pointed question: what does a faithful, practical response look like for local churches right now? Rather than wad...
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7:58
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The Chronicles of Advent: Simeon with Pastor Ryan Braley
The hardest part of waiting isn’t the clock—it’s the uncertainty that pulls at your nerves and the loss of control that makes every minute feel heavier. We open the door to that tension and walk through it together, blending neuroscience, a fre...
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27:08
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#114 - You Don’t Have to Know Who’s Right {Reflections}
Ever notice how some arguments leave you colder, even when one side seems technically correct? We dive into why being “right” can still ring hollow when it’s cut off from love, humility, and a life that actually bears good fruit. Starting with ...
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7:22
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The Chronicles of Advent: Joseph with Pastor Ben Carruthers
The manger looks calm, but the choices behind it were anything but. We kick off Advent by stepping into Joseph’s story and asking a bold question: why does a quiet carpenter keep picking the hardest road when every easier option is on the table...
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26:30
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What Is That To You? with Pastor Ryan Braley
Ever catch yourself scanning someone else’s lane and wonder why your joy suddenly feels thin? We walk through a powerful scene at the end of John’s Gospel where Peter, freshly restored and given a costly calling, glances at another disciple and...
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35:49
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#113 - How to be your Kid's Friend {Reflections}
Ever feel the tug to keep the peace and just let it slide? We dig into a crisp idea that rewires how you think about your role: you can be friends with your kids in the first part of their lives or the second, but not both. Through a quick stor...
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5:50
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My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? with Pastor Ryan Braley
Some questions crack the heart wide open. We sit with the most jarring line in Scripture—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—and refuse to rush past it. I share a fresh loss, the strange numbness that followed, and the ordinary moment t...
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29:38
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#112 - It’s All a Part of the Pilgrimage {Reflections}
A single sentence changed how we travel, plan, and live: whatever happens is all part of the pilgrimage. That line guided us from the streets of Tel Aviv to the hills of Galilee, where a thoughtful guide helped us move beyond checklists into th...
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7:20
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Are You Still Without Understanding? with Sonja Knutson
Ever catch yourself following the rules but missing the point? We open with small-town warmth and head straight into the heat of Matthew 15, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees’ obsession with handwashing and exposes a deeper problem: the heart...
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21:36
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#111 - Why You Should Have a Funeral {Reflections}
Grief doesn’t disappear when we ignore it; it grows quieter and heavier. Today we talk candidly about funerals—why they matter, who they’re actually for, and how ritual gives our bodies and communities a way to carry loss with honesty and love....
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7:32
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Have You Not Read? with Pastor Ben Carruthers
A single question flips the room: have you not read. We take that line from Jesus and follow it through a grainfield, a temple, and a minivan full of questions, asking why a law meant for rest became a rule intended to measure, and how compassi...
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21:41
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#110 - What I Learned When my Dad Died {Reflections}
The moment that voicemail played in the dark car, everything we’d been holding back broke open. Grief hit like weather—sudden, total, impossible to outthink—and what followed became a lesson we didn’t know we needed about how to let emotions mo...
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10:24
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Where Should We Buy the Bread? with Pastor Ryan Braley
Hungry crowds, tired disciples, and one audacious question: where should we buy bread? We walk through John’s vivid retelling of the loaves and fish to see how Jesus moves a community from cost-counting to courageous offering. The setup is fami...
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35:08
#109 - What is Yours to Carry? {Reflections}
A scoop of creatine goes down the wrong pipe and suddenly there’s panic, coughing, and no air. That small scare becomes the clearest picture of modern life: we’re breathing in more tragedy than our souls can process. Violent headlines, viral cl...
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11:24
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What Good Is It? with Pastor Ryan Braley
What would you trade for “the whole world”—and how would you know if the price was your soul? We dive into Jesus’ most piercing question and discover it’s not about a distant afterlife, but about the texture of our days: what we attend to, what...
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31:59
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#108 - Rituals That Shape Us {Reflections}
A river, three rocks, and a kiss—sometimes the smallest acts carry the most weight. We mark twenty-five years of marriage at Minnehaha Falls with a simple, handmade ritual and open a wider conversation about how ordinary people can create sacre...
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10:00
Do You Love Me? 1, 2, 3 with Pastor Ryan Braley
A charcoal fire, the smell of fish, and a question that won’t let go: Do you love me? We walk the shoreline with Peter from the night of denial to a dawn of restoration, and we discover why Jesus asks three times—not to shame, but to heal, refr...
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35:41
#107 - How to Pray {Reflections}
What if prayer didn’t feel like a performance, but a place to breathe? We’re sharing a three-part rhythm built around a single word—here—that makes space for presence, release, and direction. It starts with “Here I am,” a small, courageous act ...
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8:24
Still you do not know me? with Guest Pastor Lorraine Daley
What if your soul is carrying more than it was made to hold? Between constant headlines and endless scrolling, we’re all feeling the weight of a world that never powers down. Today we slow the tide and step into John 14, where Jesus speaks stra...
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22:21
#106 - Should I Go to Church? (Part 3) {Reflections}
What if church wasn’t a product but a countercurrent—something that pulls us out of the cultural river and teaches us to live differently? We open up a candid look at why a healthy church community still matters: not as a perfect institution, b...
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9:48
Why Worry? with Sonja Knuston
What if the most peaceful season of your life still made room for worry—and that became your greatest teacher? Coming back from a seven-week sabbatical, I share the highs and hiccups: hiking the Dolomites on breathless trails, a tense comedy of...
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28:00
#105 - Should I Go to Church (Part 2) {Reflections}
Ever wondered why rituals matter? In this thought-provoking exploration, Ryan dives into the transformative power of church community and how it fundamentally shapes who we become.Drawing from Aristotle's wisdom that "we are what we rep...
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9:38
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Who Touched Me? with Pastor Ryan Braley
In this episode, Pastor Ryan unpacks the powerful story of the bleeding woman in the Gospels—the moment she reaches out to touch Jesus’ garment and is instantly healed. What seems like a simple act of desperation is actually a profound display ...
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32:09
#104 - Should I Go to Church? (Part 1) {Reflections}
Ever wonder why church still matters in our digital age? This episode tackles the profound human need for meaning and belonging that church uniquely addresses. Through personal stories and thoughtful reflection, we explore how the church provid...
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10:14
